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Chaplain

Chaplains offer spiritual care to all patients and their carers, friends and family as well as the staff of the NHS.

This page has information on the role of a chaplain in the NHS, including entry requirements and skills needed.

Working life

Each chaplain is a leader (minister, imam, priest, etc) in their own faith but they are expected to work closely with other faiths.

You're usually based in a hospital and work in any department as needed. As well as an office, you'll have a chapel or multi-faith room which staff, patients and families can visit. However, as a chaplain, you will spend a lot of time in wards and other parts of the hospital visiting people who are too ill to move from their beds.

Some chaplains travel between hospitals, clinics, hospices, etc.

Chaplains represent the faiths of the local population who use NHS services. So they could be Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic or Free Churches) or any of the world faiths. You will work with patients, staff and families with any faith or no faith.

You will work with patients, staff and families with any faith or no faith.

Some NHS chaplains also work in their own faith outside the NHS. People who are ill or who have a family member who is ill may have spiritual or emotional needs. As a chaplain, you'll help them deal with the experiences of life and death, illness and injury in the context of a faith or belief system. You'll also support the spiritual needs of staff.

Entry requirements

Chaplains have to be accredited as leaders in a recognised faith community. They usually have a degree or a professional qualification.

Employers expect chaplains to have experience as a leader in their own faith and experience of spiritual and pastoral care. Employers may also ask for some experience in healthcare work. This could be from, for example, hospital visiting while working as a faith leader elsewhere.

Personal characteristics and skills

As a chaplain in the NHS, you'll need to be

willing to work with other faiths and people with no faith

able to work with staff, patients and families from all walks of life

flexible

caring and compassionate

able to work as part of a team with healthcare staff

You'll also need

excellent communication, including listening, skills

able to see things from another person’s point of view

good organisational skill

Training and development

Chaplains new to the NHS have training which includes

an introduction to healthcare chaplaincy

spirituality and chaplaincy in a multi-faith context

working in the NHS

working with people who are mentally ill

Chaplains may be able to study for postgraduate qualifications in, for example, healthcare chaplaincy or counselling.

Registration

The Professional Standards Authority accredits a number of voluntary registers against its standards including governance, setting standards for registrants, education and training, managing the register. These voluntary registers include the UKBHC register

For more information about working, training or registering as healthcare chaplain, please contact the organisations listed under the 'Further information' section below

Pay and conditions Expand / Collapse

Chaplains working in the NHS are paid on the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay system. You will typically start on AfC band 5. With further training and experience, you could apply for a chaplain team leader position at band 6.

Chaplains in the NHS work standard hours of around 37.5 a week. They are likely to work weekends and evenings. They may be part of an on-call rota.

Terms and conditions will usually be different for chaplains working outside of the NHS.

Where the role can lead Expand / Collapse

With experience, a chaplain could become a team leader, supervising the work of other chaplains. They could then progress to become a manager, responsible for chaplaincy in a hospital or NHS trust. They may be involved in training other chaplains.

Job market and vacancies Expand / Collapse

Most NHS trusts advertise their vacancies on NHS Jobs. Some advertise on their own websites. You can find a list of NHS organisations NHS Choices.

Vacancies may be advertised locally or within the appropriate faith community.

If you're applying for a role either directly in the NHS or in an organisation that provides NHS services, you'll be asked to show how you think the NHS values apply in your everyday work.